FiOS Installation - Smooth as broken glass!

I had visions yesterday moring as I drank my coffee waiting for the installer of posting a fancy demo on YouTube and pretty post with screen shots on JstJmpN, but alais, those dreams were dashed at 11:30am yesterday. I am working on a detailed post for later but I would like to post a quick update:

1. The installation went from 9:00am until sometime after 8:00pm.
2. Telephone service was out from 3:00pm until 7:30pm.
3. Verizons Activation servers were down from 11:30am until 3:00pm.
4. I don't have the latest "Interactive Media Guide" as promised on when I signed up and when I received a reminder courtesy call on Tuesday.

I did have a chance to play around with the box in the bedroom last night. I had a go-live at work until midnight so it was a very busy day.

FiOS Anticipation

I'm sorry it has been a while since my last post.

Tomorrow is the big day. My wife and I have our Tivo intervention hosted by big bad Verizon. It is going to be a hard breakup. I have had Tivo since 1999, when it was only sold on an infomercial. My wife learned about and became addictted to Tivo when we started dating. It is the one piece of technology we agree on. She has hardly noticed to 20" wide screen monitor. We went to DirectTV specifically to get the integrated DirectTivo when they first came out. We now have two.

Last night, we were getting ready for bed, and my wife exclaimed, "Oh my God, we have to watch all of our shows...'they' are going to take the Tivos!" I assured her that no one is taking the Tivos, that we own them, and I will hook them up after the FiOS install so that we can watch the recorded shows we have not seen. She exhaled and was much more relaxed.

I am trying to be the strong one and hide my fears from my my wife. The scariest thing is that we signed a 2 year agreement with Verizon. If we want to break that contract they are going to want our first born child. I know that if this does not go well she is going to take it out on me.

I'm scared! :P

There is hope with the release of the new HD Tivo. However, it may be a while before you can get a cable card out of Verizon.

FiOS Update - Interactive Media Guide Roll Out

Story at Engadget

The role out of the Interactive Media Guide is beginning! Its apparently starting in Rhode Island, parts of New Jersey, and beyond. The upgrade will be automatically installed so no user intervention is necessary.I think that Springfield, Virginia will be a part of "beyond." I was promised during my calls to Verizon to order FiOS that I would be getting the Interactive Media Guide with my installation or very soon their after.

read more | digg story

Ins and Outs: Does YouTube fit on the boob tube?

Story at Engadget

I agree with this article 100%. YouTube videos are too short and too low quality for them to be accepted on the TV. A couple of models might improve adoption:

1. What about a TV show called "YouTube's Funniest Videos." It could feature the weeks most popular clips that are appropriate for primetime TV. This would expose YouTube to a larger audience and further drag television into the reality TV black hole! The networks would love it because it would cost next to nothing to produce! Genius Pure Geninus

2. Use a thumbs up thumbs down, a la TiVo, approach to a the YouTube Channels idea discussed in the article.

read more | digg story

First Corner Cuisine Meal

Tonight we had our first Corner Cuisine meal. Tonight was "Shrimp Tacos." My wife and I realized another great benefit of the service. The portion sized are nutritionally correct and they are balanced meals. This is a really nice way to help my wife and I enforce our diet and set a good example for our kids.

The shrimp tacos were quite tasty. My wife and I each got good sized taco and the third taco was divided between my wife and I and our two year old. Sophia calls shrimp "pony tails" and she LOVES pony tails.

Samsung 205BW Update

Well I got the Samsung 205BW this evening at Costco. It cost me $199, with $30 off coupon. So far so good! The picture is beautiful, however, I have not watched any video yet. With the 6ms response time its not the fastest but I think it is going to be plenty fast for my purposes.

I still think that 2 x 17" monitors is better for most desktop purposes. Tomorrow I'll boot to Fiesty and get the resolution set there. Wish me luck I may have to run x.org!

Discovery: Corner Cuisine!

This morning my wife and her friend went to "Corner Cuisine." In an hour and a half, my wife made dinners for the next 24 nights. Corner Cuisine is a local version of a chain called "Let's Dish." My wife and her friend decided to go to Corner Cuisine instead of Let's Dish because it is A)Closer to our house, B)Cheaper, and C)Local Small Business.

In case you have not heard of the concept of these types of places, let me explain. First you select your menu, then you schedule your day, then you take a cooler to the company's location. Next, you go from station to station preparing your meals. At each station are the ingredents, instructions, and packaging for the meal. Ingredients are already prepared so the onions are already diced, garlic minced, etc.

The cost for my wife's visit was about 200 dollars and 1 hour and a half. The best part. There is no extra ingredients to go bad, no dishes or clean up to do, and its fast. With a two year old and a twin infants my wife said, "I could NOT have completed the grocery shopping for this many meals in a hour and a half."

One additional point:
Corner Cuisine also allows you to call ahead hand have them prepare individual meals that you can pickup on your way home from work.

I'll let you know how the food is at the end of the 24 days.